Sulfur Reduction at Hyperthermoacidophilic Conditions with Mesophilic Anaerobic Sludge as the Inoculum.

ABSTRACT: Sulfur reduction at hyperthermoacidophilic conditions represents a promising opportunity for metal sulfide precipitation from hot acidic metallurgical streams, avoiding costly cooling down. The suitability of mesophilic anaerobic sludges as the inoculum for sulfur-reducing bioreactors operated at high temperature and low pH was explored. We examined sludges from full-scale anaerobic reactors for sulfur-reducing activity at pH 2.0-3.5 and 70 or 80 °C, with H₂ as an electron donor. At pH 3.5 in batch experiments, sulfidogenesis started within 4 days, reaching up to 100-200 mg·L^-1 of dissolved sulfide produced after 19-24 days, depending on the origin of the sludge. Sulfidogenesis resumed after removing H₂S by flushing with nitrogen gas, indicating that sulfid

SUBMITTER: Hidalgo-Ulloa A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7676295 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature